Right Place, Wrong Time
by ilovedraco45
Summary: James and Lily have a Timeturner accident and visit Hogwarts in Harry's seventh year. Sort of corny, but maybe you'll like it. Reposted from a previous edition so there could be separate if short chapters. R&R please!
1. James' Mistake

Author's Note: I know this really messes up the plot of the real Harry Potter books, but isn't fan fiction a way to find out "_what would happen if…_" Also, in this fic, the boys can get into the girls' dormitories.

Chapter 1 – James' Mistake

James Potter stood nervously outside Lily Evans' 7th year dormitory door. He had come upstairs to apologize for taking a picture of her, bewitching it so that she looked like a showgirl, and then posting it all over the castle. He looked back down the stairs at Remus Lupin, who was standing at the bottom, as if to say '_Do I really have to do this?_'' Remus simply nodded; James gave a long – suffering sigh, and gave Remus one last imploring look. "_Do it!_" Remus hissed, and James swallowed the large lump in his throat and knocked tentatively.

"_What!_" screeched an angry voice – Lily's voice.

"Lily? Can I come in?" asked James.

"Fine," grumbled the voice, James pushed open the door, and stepped inside, shutting the door carefully behind him. The mere sight of his face was enough to make Lily's blood boil; James blanched.

"I-I just wanted to say sorry," he stuttered. "I'm sorry, and I'll never do that again."

Lily gave a snort of derisive laughter. "You're _sorry_?" You, James Harold Potter, are _sorry_ for a _prank_ you pulled? Did perfect prefect Remus tell you to do this?"

James was steaming. "Lily?" he asked in a carefully controlled voice. "How do you know that, just this one time, I might be telling the truth?"

Lily shot him an exasperated glare. "Uh, maybe because Remus is standing at the bottom of the stairs? Are you so thick that you think anyone who isn't you is stupid?" James felt color rising to his cheeks. _Busted._ But then, he felt a rage like he had never before.

"Why you little –" and then he dove at Lily.

"_You wouldn't hurt a girl!"_ she yelped, throwing her hands over her face, but eventually started fighting back. In the tussle, something was knocked off of Lily's nightstand. It rolled over backwards three times. Suddenly, both James and Lily felt like they were spinning very very fast. All they could here were loud noises and screams, and all they could see were flashes of green light, and each other, both wearing the same terrified expression. Then, suddenly, the spinning sensation stopped, all was quiet, and everything went black.


	2. Where are we?

Chapter 2 – Where are we

Chapter 2 – Where are we?

Lily came to before James. She was standing in the same dormitory…but somehow…it was different. First of all, it was neat as a pin. Second of all, it was snowing. Third of all, the calendar – Lily's stomach dropped into her knees, which gave way and she fell on top of James' chest with a resounding _thud_. She was so scared; she didn't even notice what she was sitting on. The calendar said: December 10, 1999. _Wait…_she thought. _Isn't this the year 1979? _Not _1999. Oh my God, oh my God. The Timeturner…oh shit. WHERE THE HELL IS THE TIMETURNER? _

"_James!_" she shrieked. She grabbed the water pitcher off of the windowsill and dumped the contents onto his face. He came to, spluttering from the vast amount of water that had gotten into his mouth.

"Wha…?" he asked, dazed.

"_Look at this!_" Lily shoved the calendar into his face. A look of utmost horror arose on his face as his brain processed the information. "_And you know what else? The Timeturner's gone, too! It's gone! We're doomed! We can't get back without it!"_

"Lily," said James in a voice bordering panic. "Calm down. Take a deep breath. Dumbledore will know what to do."

This helped to calm Lily down. Of course Dumbledore would know what to do. He was the headmaster and the greatest wizard of their time, wasn't he?

James looked at a clock on the nearest table. 6:30. "Come on," he said to Lily. "Everyone will be at dinner. We'll head for the Great Hall and, being as inconspicuous as possible, sneak up to the staff table and ask to speak to Dumbledore, alone. Come on Lily, you can do this. Just keep calm and don't freak out."

Lily nodded, and James helped her to her feet. They walked out into the exact same common room that had been there 20 years ago. Out of the portrait hole, down several flights of stairs, through a secret passage, and down to the Entrance Hall. They stood in the doorway of the Great Hall and surveyed the scene. The whole school seemed to be sitting and eating dinner at the house tables. Suddenly, a girl near the door, at the Hufflepuff table, caught sight of James and Lily. "Oh…my…God." she said, her voice carrying clearly across the Great Hall, above the din. "Susan! Look! It's _Lily and James Potter!"_

James put his head in his hands.


	3. UhOh

Chapter 3 – Uh-Oh

Chapter 3 – Uh-Oh.

Suddenly, the entire hall was silent. Then, there was a resonant scream from the Gryffindor table, and then a commotion as someone fell to the floor. James grabbed Lily's hand and together, they ran as fast as they could to the staff table. James' brain was reeling. Never mind the ruckus they had caused, or the person who had collapsed. James was more worried about what the girl had said. '_It's Lily and James Potter!' _Lily and James Potter. Lily and James POTTER. LILY and JAMES POTTER. _Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, _thought James. _We get MARRIED in the future? Married? To firehead Evans? No. No way. Not a snowball's chance in HELL will I marry LILY EVANS._ By this time, they had reached the staff table. They looked into Dumbledore's face, hoping for him to explain why everyone was so freaked out, but instead they saw him staring at them too, his face ashen, next to Professor McGonagall, who had fainted dead away. "Pro – Professor Dumbledore?" asked James. "We need your help. And…we need to get out of this Hall." Slowly, Professor Dumbledore nodded. He pointed his wand at Professor McGonagall and muttered "_Locomotor Mortis._" Slowly, she rose into the air, and he guided her out of the Hall, James and Lily hurrying along behind him.

Dumbledore led Lily, James, and the floating McGonagall to his office. He sat them into two chairs, then laid Professor McGonagall onto a couch, pointed his wand at her, and said _"Ennervate."_ Professor McGonagall came to, seeing Dumbledore peering down at her.

"Can it be true?" she whispered. "Lily – James? Back?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "I don't know how they got here, or how they're going to get back, but they're here."

Professor McGonagall gave a long, shuddering breath, and remembered a horrible night from 14 years ago, possibly one of the worst nights of her life. '_I can't believe it…I didn't want to believe it…Oh, Albus…'_ The night Lily and James died, and Harry was dropped on the Dursleys' doorstep for 10 years of hell.

Dumbledore turned back to Lily and James, who were staring dumbfounded at Professor McGonagall, not without good reason. What could shock Professor McGonagall so badly that she totally lost it? James and Lily were totally panicked now; they knew that something horrible had happened to them in the past 20 years. "Professor?" asked James. "I'm extremely confused. What has happened to us?" Lily, whose face was a mixture of gray and green, nodded.

Dumbledore sat down. "First, you must tell me how you got here. Then I shall tell you why everyone is so stunned."

James looked at Lily, who still seemed unable to speak, began to explain. "Well. I had just pulled a prank on Lily, and Remus was making me apologize to Lily. The apology turned into a fight, and in the ensuing scuffle, Lily's Timeturner was knocked off her nightstand, onto the floor and I guess it turned over a few times, because the next thing we knew, it felt like we were spinning very fast, we heard screams and saw flashes of green light, and then we were here."

Dumbledore nodded. "I see. Which prank is this?"

"The showgirl prank," said James, meekly.

"So you are…16. Ok. Now, the way you are to get back is through the Timeturner. Do either of you have it? They shook their heads. "Ah. Well then, I shall write to the Ministry to get you another one. It may take a little while. Now, I will tell you what has happened that made your appearance shock everyone, on two conditions. Condition one, which you do not panic, and condition two, which you do not try to change the future, for it is inevitable. Cast in stone. To change it would be pointless. Do I make myself clear?" They nodded again. "All right," said Dumbledore. "Well, a few years after you graduate, a wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort" – Professor McGonagall gave a squeak of fright at the name – "begins to try to take over the Wizarding community. I start an organization to fight him, called The Order of the Phoenix, and you both willingly join up. A few years later, you are married" – Lily yelped and James turned green – "and Lily gives birth to a son. But, one year after this, Lord Voldemort shows up at your home. You are both killed. But by some miracle, Harry survives and is with us to this day. In fact, I think that he was the one who screamed at the Gryffindor table. Minerva, are you up to walking?" Professor McGonagall nodded. "Then I would like you told hold everyone in the Great Hall, tell them I need to speak to them, and take Harry up to the hospital wing. He needs rest after such a shock. Harry is your son," he added to Lily and James, who both nodded. _I hope he's OK,_ thought Lily. _A son! This is weird…but…wow!_

"Also," said Dumbledore, "You will have to attend classes here until I can obtain a Timeturner. It may take some time, as I don't have as much pull with the new Minister and it will be difficult to explain that I need it for Lily and James Potter"–James made an involuntary retching noise and Lily glared at him– "not to mention the fact that you have both broken the law by letting yourselves be seen. Your schedules will be given to you at breakfast. Also, I will be adding an extra bed to the boys and girls' dormitories. Now, I would like you to the hospital wing and be with your son while I address the school. Good night. And…welcome to 1999." With that he was gone.


	4. Dumbledore's Speech

Chapter 4 – Dumbledore's Speech

Chapter 4 – Dumbledore's Speech

Lily and James just sat there in a daze. It was Lily who spoke first. "W – We have a son. And we get _married_. And we d – d – die to save him!" James nodded grimly, and they set off for the hospital wing.

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Dumbledore was talking to the rest of the school. "I know this has come to you as a great shock. But it is not what you think. Lily and James Potter, or, I should say Lily Evans and James Potter since they are not yet married have not achieved the impossible. They have not beaten death. They merely accidentally used Lily's Timeturner to come to the future. Lily and James will be staying with us, here, until I can obtain a Timeturner to send them back to their own time. While they are here, I would like everyone to carry out three requests. First, please do not attempt to use a Timeturner to send yourself into the future. It will most likely produce disastrous results, as well as break several major laws, and anyone who tries to send themselves into the future from now on will be expelled. Second, do not mention to Lily, James, or Harry that Lily and James die in the future. If Harry is not emotionally scarred by this, I will be very surprised. And as for Lily and James, how would you feel if someone told you that you had to die in the future? Also, at sixteen, Lily and James did not have feelings for each other, as Remus can undoubtedly tell you." Remus, who looked as though he had been hit by a truck, laughed shakily. "So please do not mention their anticipated marriage. Finally, please do not tell Harry that his parents are still dead, or that they have to go back to the past _some_ day. As I said before, this is probably very traumatizing for him. That is all, you may go." As soon as other people began to leave, Ron and Hermione made a beeline for the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey let them in, but very grudgingly.

"He's with his parents," she said.

"Do you know how completely weird it is to hear you say that?" demanded Ron. When Madam Pomfrey let them into the hospital wing, Hermione ran to Harry's bedside. Ron grabbed two chairs and dragged them over. Lily and James looked up at her, confused.

"Will he be all right?" she asked breathlessly.

Lily smiled. "He'll be all right…erm…"

"Hermione Granger. And I trust that you are Lily Evans and James Potter?" They nodded. "It's nice to meet you. This is Ron Weasley." Ron nodded. Lily, James, Ron and Hermione sat up all night, watching over him until dawn streaked the dark blue sky with pink and orange.


	5. Harry's Reaction

Chapter 5 – Harry's Reaction

Chapter 5 – Harry's Reaction

Harry woke up the next day, and saw Ron and Hermione looking at him concernedly. _It was all just a dream then_, he thought. _My parents aren't really here. _But then, he heard Hermione from somewhere over his head, saying "Lily! James! He's awake!" With that he sprang upright.

"M – Mum? Dad?" he asked. Lily thought it was sweet, but James looked like he was trying not to laugh. She kicked him in the shin.

"Ouch!"

"Ha, Potter, that's what you get for almost laughing at your own son!"

As soon as Hermione knew that Harry would definitely be OK, she went down to breakfast, dragging Ron behind her, so that Harry, James and Lily could be alone. Lily clapped one hand against her forehead.

"Potter! We're supposed to be down at breakfast getting our schedules!"

"Oh yeah, you're right Evans…hey, can he leave?" James asked Madam Pomfrey. After 15 minutes of arguing with James, Madam Pomfrey agreed that Harry could face the school with his parents. Outside in the hall, there was a long, awkward silence.

"So, Harry, do you play Quidditch on the Gryffindor team?"

Harry beamed. "I'm the Seeker. I _love_ flying. Before you – go back, we have to play Quidditch with Ron and Ginny, his little sister."

"Go figure," Lily muttered.

"I'm sorry, what was that Evans?"

"I said, figures any son of yours would love Quidditch to death." James just grinned and nodded.

As they entered the Great Hall, Lily and James could feel all eyes in them. Harry was used to it, though and he sat down with Lily and James on either side of him. Once they had sat down, McGonagall came down from the staff table with two schedules. "Potter," she said.

"Yes?" asked Harry and James. Lily giggled.

"James Potter," said McGonagall, "please go easy on your teachers today, especially the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions teachers. They are having a bit of trouble getting over their shock. Have a good day."

James looked at his schedule. History of Magic, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Astronomy, Potions, - _damn it, with Snape! I can't believe it! Well, that greasy git is in for the surprise of his life._ And…James spit out his mouthful of potatoes, which hit Hermione full in the face. "Oh my God I'm so sorry! _Scourgify!_" Hermione's face was cleaned, and she started laughing. "Evans!" said James. "Look at this!"

Lily saw who the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was, and felt her mouth drop open. "No…way…" she said. "Remus Lupin?"

"Oh, you'll love him," said Hermione. "He's very good."

James roared with laughter. "Yeah, I'll bet," he said. "He was only one of my best friends at school, after all. I wonder why he's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, though." After breakfast, Lily, James, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all went to Potions. James smiled lazily when he saw who was standing in behind the teacher's desk. "Why," he said softly, "Hello, _Snivellus._"


	6. A Very Strange Potions Lesson

Chapter 6 – A Very Strange Potions Lesson

Chapter 6 – A Very Strange Potions Lesson

Snape whirled around. "Potter," he said dangerously, his black eyes glittering. James grinned. "And," here his jaw dropped. "_Lily!_" Lily's smile faltered momentarily, remembering her and Severus' last, extremely awkward conversation, but she regained it in a flash.

"Hello, Severus," she said. Then she turned to James and muttered, "I'm warning you, Potter, don't try anything."

James gave a mock bow. "Ah, of course, but only for you, Evans." He winked at Harry.

Snape's eyes flashed, his mind racing a mile a minute. _Lily. Here. Now. Alive. _He coughed and tried to look foreboding. "Everyone sit down! Today, we will be trying to procure the Wolfsbane Potion…although some people may be too…daft to achieve the required results." Here, his eyes lingered on James and Harry.

James stood up, his eyes blazing. He flicked his wand and thought, _Levicorpus!_ There was a flash of light and Snape yelped, for he was hanging upside-down, and his robes had fallen over his head. The class roared with laughter. "Silence!" Snape yelled from under his overturned robes. "I'm warning you!" This only made the class laugh harder.

Lily was furious. "_Potter!_" she yelled. "I can't believe you! Even 20 years in the future, you can't stop HEXING people!" She turned her wand on him and screeched "_Furnunculus!" _James yelled and brought his hands to his face, where angry boils were springing up.

"Oh, that does it," he said furiously. There was a flash of light, and Lily was hanging upside down, too. She was seething, and Harry sprang to his feet, flicked his wand, and thought, _Liberacorpus!_ He caught Lily before she hit the ground. "What did you do that for?" asked James incredulously. Harry just looked at him. "Well, OK, maybe I was a little harsh on Evans, but can we leave Snape like he is?"

"By all means!" said Harry, grinning from ear to ear.

"Like father, like son," grumbled Lily. They then produced the Wolfsbane Potion, with the help of Harry's copy of _Advanced Potion – Making._ To Snape's displeasure, it was the best in the class. Snape stayed hanging until the end of the lesson, until James, standing in the doorway, let him down. Snape gave a roar and started towards James, who pointed his wand at Snape and shouted "_IMPEDIMENTA!"_ Snape was stopped in his tracks.

"50 POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!" he screamed. "I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS, POTTER!" James and Harry ran as fast as they could towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, laughing their heads off. Lily followed, muttering darkly. They entered the classroom and took their seats. The teacher entered the room and stopped short.


	7. Moony and Prongs Reunited

Author's Note: This is the part where my new stuff begins, and since the Deathly Hallows came out I'll be editing things as I see fit. I've realized how much I messed up the plot, but I stand by my original statement (what would happen if…). Also, I should warn you that whenever I write something really passionately it ends up sounding incredibly cheesy.

Chapter 7 – Moony and Prongs Reunited

"Ho-ly shit," said Remus as he entered his classroom and found not only Harry Potter, but James and Lily as well. "James," he whispered, rushing over and clapping him on the back.

"Remus!" James exclaimed with a snicker. "You aged well! Where's Sirius? And Wormtail?"

"Um," said Remus. "No one's heard from Wormtail for awhile." He glanced at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, hoping they wouldn't say anything, and they thankfully remained silent. "Listen, I'll talk to you later, okay?" James nodded, and with that, Remus walked to his desk and started the class.

After classes had ended that day, James, Remus, Lily, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting in the Gryffindor common room. All the other Gryffindors were too spooked by the return of the older Potters and were giving the group a wide berth, which just let them have more couches to themselves. "Come on," Lavender Brown muttered to Parvati Patil. "Let's go upstairs." They fairly fled to the safety of their dormitory, Lavender tripping on the last step.

Hermione rolled their eyes – sharing a room with them, she was used to their antics. "So anyways, James," Remus was saying, "the thing about Sirius. I don't really know where to begin."

"Start with Azkaban," Harry said quietly from his spot on the end of one couch, and Ginny squeezed his shoulder.

Remus took a shuddery breath. "Okay. You know about your whole–"

"We know we die, yes," James interrupted bluntly.

"Yeah. Okay. So…Sirius was blamed for the murder of thirteen people, some of them Muggles, with one curse right after your…passing, and spent the next twelve years in Azkaban. Using his…you know, _skill_" (James, Remus, Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded while Ginny and Lily shrugged), "he broke out and found Harry." He opened his mouth to continue, but James interrupted again.

"Oh man! That is _badass!_ Breaking out of Azkaban!"

"It most certainly is not, Potter!" Lily snapped. "What if the dementors got him? Oh God, did they get him?" she inquired of Remus.

"Well," Remus said in a stilted voice. "He was on the run for a year, and then he went into hiding back at Grimmauld Place…and…thenhehadtogorescueHarryfromVoldemortattheDepartmentofMysteriesandwaskilled."

"_What?_" Lily and James asked, and Remus repeated himself. James began to shake. "Oh, my God. Holy _shit_."

"James," Remus said seriously. "When you get back, you _cannot_ tell Sirius what happens, under _any circumstances_. You can't try to change the future, because you could end up seriously messing with our present. Okay?" James just squeaked. "James. Give me your _word_."

"…I…I promise," James said, dazed. They all sat in silence for a moment, until Neville came up and tapped him on the back of the head.

"Harry?" he asked, and yelped when James turned around and looked at him. Harry turned and he looked back and forth at them, white-faced. "Uh. Here's the twelve Galleons I owe you."

"Thanks, Neville," Harry said wearily, pocketing the gold. "It's time for dinner, we should go downstairs."


	8. Lily and the Prince

Chapter 8 – Lily and the Prince

Chapter 8 – Lily and the Prince

At the dinner table, Harry kept finding himself staring at Lily. After missing his mouth with a forkful of sheperd's pie for the third time, Lily broke down. "What are you looking at?" she demanded. "Do I have something on my face or something?"

"You're my _mother_," he whispered.

"Brilliant deduction," Ron muttered, and Hermione and Ginny socked him on each arm. Wincing, he returned to his food.

Lily was looking at Harry, bemused. "No, I mean, you're my mother," said Harry. "I haven't seen you in living memory. I'm sorry for staring, but this is just so bizarre."

Lily leaned in closer. "We have the same eyes, don't we?" she asked. Harry nodded. "That's so cool!" _I'm a mother_, she thought as she leaned back onto her bench, and for the first time, she didn't feel panic fluttering in her chest as she contemplated that concept.

"Why aren't you staring at me?" James inquired through a mouthful of potatoes. Harry grinned and turned to stare at him, but after a few seconds James threw up his hands. "That's creepy. Stop." They burst into laughter, just as a sallow-skinned, hook-nosed figure appeared behind Lily. "Snivelly," James greeted.

"Careful, Potter," Snape snapped. "As your teacher, I could make your life _very difficult_." James made an "ooh, I'm so scared" type face, and Snape turned to Lily. "Miss Evans, could I speak with you?"

"I have nothing to say to you," Lily said coldly. "And you know precisely why."

"_Walk_," Snape said ominously, but there was no glitter of malice in his eyes. Suddenly Lily found her legs moving against her will, and before she knew it she was halfway out the door into the entrance hall. "Severus Snape, you let me up _now!_" she seethed, but Snape pointed his wand at the door, which flew open, and Lily marched through it.

Snow covered every surface of the grounds, and Lily's breath came out in little puffs. "Bloody hell, I am _freezing_," she muttered. Snape took off his cloak and draped it around her shoulders. She sniffed it and wrinkled her nose. "Do you _smoke_ now?" she asked, disgusted.

"No," Snape mumbled. "A second-year messed up his Swelling Solution in ways I didn't know were possible." She felt a twinge of a smile fly across her face and ordered herself to remain composed.

They walked silently to the lake, and Snape cleared the snow off a log with his wand. "Sit," he said, and Lily, the charm forcing her to walk removed, sat, her stomach twisting into knots.

"Okay, Severus," she said. "What do you want?"

Snape sighed, and she saw a big puff of breath leave his mouth and disappear almost instantly. "Listen," he said. "I know I've said it about a million times, but I'm really sorry for calling you a Mudblood."

Lily snorted. "Is that all you had to say? Why take me all the way down to the lake to say it?"

"No, _listen_!" Snape implored, and silver sparks flew from the end of his wand in his intensity. Lily sat and listened, half confused; half terrified. "I never got a chance to apologize properly, and then you were gone. Lily, I _can't lose you again_," he said, shaking her shoulders. Lily was seriously freaked out now. What had gotten into him? "Lily," he said, looking her straight in the eyes. "You have to believe me. I would _never_ hurt you intentionally. I would never ever do that to you."

"Why should I believe you?" Lily said. She hadn't blinked since green eyes had met black, and the cold air was making them water.

"I didn't want it to come to this," Snape muttered. He brandished his wand and mumbled "_Expecto Patronum!_" The silver doe burst from the tip and cantered around them in circles, its bright light reflected in Lily's wide eyes. "I love you, Lily. Always."

It took Lily some time to find her voice. "H-how long?" she choked out.

"Um," said Snape. "Remember the first day we met? In the park?" Lily nodded. "It started then."

"I-I have to go," Lily whispered. "I need to think." Without waiting for an answer, she turned tail and ran, as fast as she could, for the castle.


	9. Serious Discussions

Chapter 9 – TITLE TBA

Chapter 9 – TITLE TBA

Back inside the Great Hall, Lily stayed away all through dinner and pudding. Everyone waited for fifteen minutes after the other students had left, but eventually James clapped his hands together decisively and said "Well. She knows the way back to the common room." and with that they rose and left. "You're the Seeker for Gryffindor, right Harry?" he asked and the boys and Ginny immediately launched into a deep discussion of tactics and who was most likely to win the Cup this year. Hermione rolled her eyes and buried her nose in her Ancient Runes book – years of bookworming had taught her how to read and walk simultaneously.

They were stopped on the floor below the Fat Lady's portrait by McGonagall, who took them all to Dumbledore's office. "I have received a letter from the Ministry," he said, as Fawkes hooted softly. "Your Timeturner will be here in three weeks time, on December 28th, which means we must make arrangements for you and Miss Evans during the holidays. Now, Mr. Weasley, I understand that you have invited Harry back to the Burrow for the holidays."

"I think I might stay here," Harry broke in. "It's Christmas, and I want to spend it with my family."

"A wise decision, Harry," Dumbledore remarked. "I daresay Molly would not take too well to seeing James Potter and Lily Evans on her doorstep." Harry and Ron exchanged grins, imagining this scene.

"I'll stay," Ron volunteered, and Hermione and Ginny were quick to agree, and Ginny went to send Pig to Mrs. Weasley to inform her of the change in plans.

"Wonderful," Dumbledore mused. "Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, might I ask you to leave me and the Potters alone for a few minutes?" Ron and Hermione obliged, and Dumbledore showed them out. As soon as their heads disappeared down the moving stairs, he situated himself behind his desk and Harry and James sat in front of it. "Now," he said. "How are the both of you holding up? This must be unbelievably strange for the both of you."

James spoke first. "I don't know many seventeen-year-old guys who think about marrying anyone, much less their rival, having a son, and dying premature deaths. So yes, this is quite a shock."

Harry nodded. "I never thought I would see my parents anywhere else than out of the tip of Voldemort's wand," he mumbled. "I still can't believe this is happening."

Dumbledore made a somber noise of dissent. "Harry, if you would wait outside while I speak to Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded and disappeared down the moving stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, Dumbledore leaned towards James. "James." James did a double-take, as he had never heard Dumbledore address him by first name. "I hope I will not offend you when I say that during your time at Hogwarts, your sense of maturity did not exactly flourish." When James did look a bit offended, Dumbledore rushed on, "Believe me, you became a wonderful and mature man after leaving, but as a student you were known more for your sense of humor. Please listen to me when I say that Harry has been severely deprived of any kind of family for most of his life. He _needs_ you and Lily to ignore any uncomfortable feelings you might have and be, if not parents, accepting of the fact that he will see you as parental figures. I trust Lily will be able to do this. Can you?"

"Yes sir," James said seriously.

"Good," replied Dumbledore just as seriously. "Off to bed with you." James left, feeling a little shell-shocked. _All I wanted to do this year was get through my N.E.W.T.s and graduate in peace_, he thought. _Now I'm stuck 20 years in the future with Evans, my future _wife_, and our son!_ Shaking his head, he returned to his dormitory, looking forward to a long sleep.


	10. The Room of Requirement Sleepover

Chapter 10 - The Room of Requirement Sleepover and Other Tales of Wisdom

Hermione and Ginny had just stepped the stone staircase, talking about nothing in particular, when they each had a hand grabbed and yanked, hard, by Lily, and they found themselves sprinting along behind her. "You – me – Snape – talk – private," she gasped, when they finally screeched to a halt behind a statue on the seventh.

"You want to talk about Snape in private?" Ginny asked. "No way can we go back to the dorms, Lavender and Parvati will be all over your personal business."

"That's okay," Hermione said with a smile. "Look where we are." Moments later, Lily found herself inside the Room of Requirement, which had done itself up in a sort of slumber party setting in response to Hermione's request of a space in which to talk privately. The floor was covered with squishy carpeting that felt almost like a mattress, there was a pile of sleeping bags and pillows in a corner, and some Muggle beauty products were scattered around.

"This is mad," Lily breathed, looking around. "I've been at Hogwarts for seven years, and I never knew this was here! When I get back, I'm using this _all the time_!"

Ginny tentatively opened a bottle of nail polish, and winced as the smell hit her. "What the hell _is_ this stuff?"

"You put it on your nails," Hermione and Lily said in unison, and then smiled at each other. "Never mind that," Hermione said, tossing the polish aside with the rest of the cosmetics and spreading a few of the sleeping bags out. "What's this problem with Snape?"

Lily explained it as best she could to the dumbfounded girls. "Severus and I have known each other since we were little kids. We were best friends for almost ten years…until he called me a Mudblood in the fifth year. I never spoke to him again. But tonight, he forced me to walk onto the grounds, and…I thought he was going mad! He started completely flipping out, apologized fervently, and then declared his _love_ for me." Ginny screamed, and Hermione gasped.

"_What?_" Ginny shrieked. "Snape is in love with _you?_"

"Oh, my God," Hermione whispered. Her book smarts were useless against love. "Oh God, what do we do, what do we do?"

"How can I go back to the '70's and face him again?" Lily sobbed. "Forget that, how do I go to _breakfast_ tomorrow and face him?"

"Do you love him, too?" Ginny asked, as Hermione put her arm around Lily.

"I – I don't know! I mean, we were good friends, but I can't love him that much, can I? I mean, I end up married to James! So clearly we don't work out…but how?"

The girls talked over this dilemma for several hours. At around midnight, Hermione glanced over at Ginny and saw that she was snoring lightly, her face buried in one of the sleeping bags.

"I mean, I can't just ditch Severus," Lily was saying, more to herself than to Hermione at this point. "He knows more about me than anyone. But I end up with James, we die for our son, and then he saves the world? I can't chance that not happening, the world would be doomed!"

Hermione laughed in spite of herself. "Look, we can't do anything about it in here. Let's get some sleep." _We need an Invisibility Cloak_, she thought, and rolled her eyes when one didn't appear. "Grab a sleeping bag." Lily fell asleep almost immediately, her red hair falling over her face and fluttering lightly whenever she exhaled, but Hermione lay awake for a long time, looking up at the ceiling. _Does life ever get less complicated?_ she wondered. _Here we are with our troubles supposedly over, and we have to deal with Harry's parents coming up from the past as high school students, Snape being an actual human being, and 20-year-old love triangles. Voldemort is gone, but we've got a whole new set of problems to face. At least these ones won't kill us._ She sighed, rolled over in her sleeping bag, and fell into a restless doze.

When the girls woke up, sunlight was streaming through a window that the room had somehow sprouted during the night, most likely due to a request one of them had made in a dream.

"Um," Ginny said, sitting up in her sleeping bag and giggling. "Who dreamed about purple kittens?" Three of them were gamboling around in a patch of sunlight, to the three girls' amusement.

Lily sat up and arched her back. "Blimey, I'm hungry," she yawned. "Let's get breakfast." The three of them climbed out of their sleeping bags, Ginny rather reluctantly, and headed for the Great Hall, Hermione tossing her hair into a bun so as not to scare people with the height it got to in the mornings.

At the Gryffindor table, James was trying to impart some fatherly-type wisdom in Harry, while Ron looked on, laughing. "So listen…when a girl says that she's fine, she's rarely fine. In fact, everything is horrible and you should run away as fast as you can."

"Yeah, we learned that one the hard way," Ron put in, wincing as he remembered the feeling of tons of sharp little beaks pecking his face. "Hermione set a flock of birds on me," he explained as Harry snorted.

"Yeah, uh, thanks, Dad," Harry said, his face falling suddenly.

"What is it?" James asked, concerned.

"It's just…I can't help thinking about what comes next," Harry replied. "You have to go back to your own time eventually, and I have to stay here, and everything goes back to the way it is."

"Exactly," James said, leaning across the table and gripping Harry's shoulders. "Which is why we need to make the most of this time now. Stop worrying about what happens next and try to enjoy some time with us!"

"You've nailed the fatherly wisdom thing," Ron said approvingly as the girls sat down around them.

"Morning, Harry," said Lily, squeezing his shoulder as she sat down next to him. "All right?"

"Yeah," Harry said absently, swigging his pumpkin juice. "Oh, blimey. Don't look now, but Snape's heading this way." James snickered and Lily made an odd yelping noise.

"Evans," Snape said. "I was wondering if you had given any thought to our…discussion."

"Oooh, Snivelly," James jeered. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were after our favorite redhead!"

Lily snapped. "_Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!_" she screamed at James. _"Just stop it!"_ She looked around at everyone's wide-eyed faces, made a noise that sounded like "Nunnnnnghn", and ran for it, grabbing Hermione and Ginny with her.

"Um." said James. "What in Merlin's name was that about?"

"I have no idea," Harry replied, staring at the spot where the girls had disappeared into the entrance hall. "Come on, let's go down to the Quidditch field."


	11. Lily Freaks Out, Part II

Chapter 11 – Lily Freaks Out, Part II

Harry, James, and Ron made their way down to the Quidditch pitch – Harry with his Firebolt, Ron with his Cleansweep, and James with a moldy-smelling Comet Two Ninety that they'd taken from the broom shed. Since Harry was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, he unlocked Madam Hooch's office and grabbed the Quaffle out of the box, and they tossed it back and forth, occasionally lobbing it at Ron to see if he could save it. "You're a brilliant flier, Harry!" James yelled as he sped past. "I've never seen a broom that could go that fast, either!"

"Sirius bought it for me in my third year!" Harry called back. "He said it was thirteen years worth of presents!"

"Bloody hell!" James bellowed from the opposite goal post. "My godfather gives me socks and quills! I guess we made a good choice!"

Harry laughed, and noticed an orange speck leave the castle and run down to the Quidditch pitch. As it drew nearer, he saw that it was Ginny. "JAMES!" she screeched, and James turned, saw her, and landed. "Lily's having a bit of a breakdown," she panted. "You need to talk to her. She's in the boys' dorm."

"Um, listen Ginny. I'm not the best person to be comforting Evans. She and I aren't exactly best mates." Ginny gave James the sort of look that only girls can give boys, the look that said _do this immediately or bad things will happen to you_. James sighed, rolling his eyes. "Take this back to the broom shed," he grumbled, thrusting the Comet Two Ninety at Ginny, and trudged back toward the castle.

"Remind me why we're in the boys' dormitory again?" Lily hiccupped, wiping her eyes.

"Because," Hermione said. "My roommates are the biggest gossips you have ever met. If they get so much as a hint of what's going on…I don't even want to think about what kind of rumors would start spreading." Lily nodded and shakily opened a Chocolate Frog. Just then, a knock sounded on the door and James entered. "I'll just leave you two alone," Hermione said, giving Lily a quick hug. "It'll be okay."

James entered the boys' dormitory and sat down next to Lily on his bed. She was wearing a blue sweater of Ginny's, as she didn't have any changes of clothes with her, and it was much more low-cut than any of her other sweaters. _Don't say anything, James_, he thought, but at the same time he found himself saying "Damn, Evans, what'd you do?"

"I took a shower," said Lily, narrowing her eyes. "Maybe you should try it sometime."

"Don't get all snarky with me, Evans," James shot back. "I'm only here because Ginny made me come. Tell me what's wrong, will you? Then I can say something generically comforting and go back outside."

Lily glared at him, but then decided that he was as good as two girls who were very sweet, but didn't know her at all. "If I'm going to tell you _anything_, you have to keep your stupid little comments to yourself. No one likes them." James sighed, exasperated, but agreed. "Snape is in love with me," she said, going on to explain everything.

_Hell no!_ James exclaimed inwardly. _Snape doesn't get any of that!_ Then he stopped himself. _James, what the hell are you doing? You gave up on Lily years ago. She doesn't like you. What's the point of liking her?_

"What are you doing?" Lily asked, bewildered. James was sitting with his knees drawn to his chest and muttering to himself. When he didn't answer, she flicked his arm. "Hey! Potter!"

James blinked. "What?"

"What should I do?"

"To be honest, I don't know," admitted James. "Maybe you should just see what happens when we get back. And in the meantime, you should avoid Snape. He'll just make things worse." _And that little slimeball will get you when I go out with Wormtail_. "But cheer up! Tomorrow's Christmas! Who knows, maybe we'll have futuristic-type presents that we can take back to the past or something." Lily gave a shaky giggle. "If I was a girl, would I…hug you or something now?" he asked. Lily tentatively rested her head on his shoulder, and he put his arm around her.

"You're all right, Potter," she murmured. "This is so weird."

James laughed. "It is, isn't it? When we get back, I'm never touching a TimeTurner again. I'm never even touching a _clock_." Lily giggled again, and James smiled to himself. The thought of them being married seemed less and less strange all the time.


	12. Christmas Time is Family Time

Chapter 12 – Christmas Time is Family Time

Chapter 12 – Christmas Time is Family Time

Harry woke to the dulcet tones of Ron bellowing "Presents! Wake up already!" Harry cracked open one eye and saw a pile of brown packages, as well as an envelope sitting on the very top. He sat up and began to open them, as James came over and sat on Neville's empty bed. He had received the routine sweater from Mrs. Weasley, blue with a yellow stag, and some treacle fudge, a new pair of Quidditch gloves from Ron, a box of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum from Hermione, and something large and furry from Hagrid that looked like a pelt, but that made a growling noise when he picked it up and tried to chew his pajamas. "Right, we'll figure that one out later," James said with a laugh.

"Open the envelope!" Lily exclaimed as she, Ginny and Hermione burst into the room. "Go on!" Harry slit open the top and withdrew a set of photographs, each of James and Lily making different silly faces at him and waving. They had skipped dinner and stolen Seamus Finnigan's camera to take them and Lily had developed them. "Merry Christmas, Harry," Lily said with a smile, giving him a huge hug. _If there was any time to act like a Mom to your future son from the future, I suppose its Christmas Day,_ she thought, before contemplating the insanity of what her brain had managed to think up.

James followed Lily's lead and clapped Harry on the back. "Merry Christmas," he said, before being startled by a loud sound of protest from Lily, who was holding Lavender Brown's left-behind dressing gown in front of her face as Hermione pointed the Polaroid-style camera at her.

"No! No camera!" she shrieked. "I look like a lagoon creature!"

"Stop it, Lily!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm going to take a sentimental family photograph of Christmas and it will be adorable, okay?" Laughing, Lily eventually agreed, and the two Potters and one Evans crowded into Harry's bed to put their arms around each other, smiling and waving. As the flashbulb burst, a photograph flew out of the slit. As the picture grew clearer, the six friends saw three disheveled people laughing and waving to the camera. Hermione drew a quill out of thin air and wrote, _The Potters on Christmas Day, 1999_, placing it on Harry's bedside table.

They all eventually dressed and headed to the Great Hall for lunch, then spent the afternoon in the snow, bewitching snowballs so that they never missed their intended targets. For Christmas dinner, the house tables were drawn up against the wall once again, as they had for Harry, Ron and Hermione's third year. There was one table in the center of the room for the staff, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Lily, James, two Hufflepuffs, and a disgruntled-looking Slytherin. Though it was nice to eat with everyone together, this made James' advice of "try to avoid Snape" difficult for Lily.

"Professor Snape," she said in carefully controlled tones. "Please pass the potatoes." As he handed them to her, he tried to catch her eye, but she carefully avoided his gaze. She still had no idea what she was going to do about him.

Dumbledore swallowed a piece of chicken and turned to James. "How are you enjoying your time in the future?" he asked.

James swallowed his own food in turn. "I'm enjoying it, I suppose," he mused. "As much as you could enjoy time in the future learning about the rest of your lives prematurely." As he ate, his hand bumped against Lily's and he felt it tingle. _This is not good. It's time to get away from Evans for a bit_.

Luckily, Lily spoke up just then. "Um…want to take a walk, Harry?"

"Sure," Harry said surprised. "A walk where?"

"I don't know, anywhere," she replied distractedly. They stood and left, heading out onto the grounds.

They were almost to the lake when Lily turned to Harry. "Do I make a good mother?" she asked. "You know, in the future? Or past or whatever?"

"I don't really know," Harry admitted. They lay on their backs in the snow, Lily conjuring a blanket with her wand. "I mean, you died when I was a year old. I think you did." I just wish I could've known you better," Harry mused. "As a mother, not as a friend."

"If I was being more of a mother figure right now, what would you say to me?"

"I guess I would say…thank you for giving your life to save mine," Harry mused. "I owe everything to you and Dad. My entire life has happened the way it has because of the two of you."

_I owe everything to you and Dad_. Lily repeated these words over and over to herself in her head, and found one hot tear sliding down her cheek. She reached out and took Harry's hand. "I'm so sorry it has to end like this," she choked. "I don't want to have to leave you to fend for yourself."

"I know," Harry whispered, close to tears himself. "It's okay." They lay there for a long time, until James stuck his head out the door and roared "_Evans! Harry! Come back inside already, the feast is over!_"

"Such a sensitive man, your father," Lily grumbled, sniffling, as she and Harry stood up, Vanished the blanket, and headed back to the castle.


	13. Dream Sequences and Review Responses!

Chapter 13 – Dream Sequences and Review Responses

Chapter 13 – Dream Sequences and Review Responses!

Author's Note: Thanks for the great reviews, guys! a.r. Alston, if you have any suggestions on how I can make Harry more in character I'd appreciate it, I've found he's the hardest character to write. HermioneGranger and callie: you're awesome! I hope you guys like this chapter, I had fun writing it.

Harry had always found that the Hogwarts feasts always had a funny way of messing with his dreams, especially if he was stressed. He had never quite forgotten the nightmare he had had after his first ever feast, when Quirrell's turban had told him to transfer to Slytherin. The second his head hit the pillow, he was out cold and having a very strange dream. It was sort of like the old nightmare from his first year, when his parents disappeared in a burst of green light, but it was more detailed this time.

In the dream, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna were back in the Department of Mysteries in their fifth year, only this time James and Lily were with them. Harry watched again as Sirius fell backwards through the veil as it fluttered, but then he watched, horrified, as Lily and James grabbed hands, yelled "See ya, Harry!" and took a running leap at the arch, disappearing into it after Sirius in a cloud of maniacal laughter, leaving Harry with no parents, no godfather, and to deal with Ginny's broken ankle, Ron's Acid Trip spell, Hermione and Luna's unconsciousness, and Neville's broken face. "Holy shit!" Harry whispered as he sat bolt upright in bed, sweating. _It's okay, _he reassured himself_. Their real goodbye won't be anything like that_. He looked over at James, who was snoring lightly, and eventually lay back down.

James was dreaming of feeding Snape to a hippogriff. "This is delicious," said the hippogriff. "You should bring me more humans in the future, okay? And hey, score getting with Lily."

As if on cue, Lily appeared. "Hey, baby," she said, giving him a hug. "I just came from nursing Harry, and my breasts are _so sore_!"

"Damn," the hippogriff whispered in James' ear. "You should _hit that!_"

Before James could respond, Lily kept talking. "Anyways, Voldemort is here to kill us now. You ready?"

"Sure," James replied, and they went over to Voldemort.

"Okay, let's get this over with," Voldemort said in a bored voice. "_Avada Kedavra!_"

James woke up, his limbs flailing. He knocked over his goblet of water onto Ron's face. _Why can't Lily talk like that in real life? _he wondered before falling asleep again, and when he woke up in the morning, he didn't remember the dream at all.

Ron woke up, spluttering, to a faceful of water. "What the hell?" he mumbled. Ron had been dreaming that he was lying on a bed of Sugar Quills, watching Hermione snog Fleur Delacour.

"Your tongue eez so forceful," Fleur said mid-kiss. "I can 'ardly feet eet into my mouth!"

Ron made a squeaking noise of disbelief and Hermione looked over and noticed him. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, you get out of here!" she said reprovingly, throwing a fistful of water at him. _The day real life is like that, I will give Snape a great big hug_, Ron thought grumpily, staring at the ceiling.

Across the tower in the girls' dormitory, Lily dreamt of her and James' wedding. "If anyone should have a reason why these two should not be joined in marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace," the minister said. Snape hung upside down in the back of the church, his eyes staring daggers at James. "I now pronounce you husband and wife," the minister said. "You may kiss the bride."

"C'mon baby, let's go kiss under the mistletoe," James said, leading her underneath Snape, where he gave her their first kiss as husband and wife. Lily woke up breathless, and she knew what she had to do before she left.


	14. Heartbreaking Cliches

Chapter 14 – Heartbreaking Clichés

Author's Note: Muahaha, hope you enjoyed that last chapter. Anyone who thinks that James and Ron's dreams were a little…crass, remember: they're adolescent boys. :) R&R, Enjoy!

A note had been delivered to Lily and James at breakfast that morning that said, in Dumbledore's loopy script, _The Timeturner has arrived. You will be sent home tonight. Please tend to any unfinished business before dinner_. Lily gulped. It was almost like he knew what she would be doing today.

After breakfast, she returned to her dormitory, where she proceeded to pace and wring her hands. Eventually, she sat down on her bed, conjured a quill, an ink bottle, and two bottles of ink out of midair, and began to write.

Down in the common room, Harry was showing James a ratty-looking piece of parchment. _"_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he intoned, James' grin growing bigger with each word.

"_No way!_" he exclaimed. "How'd you get your hands on our map?"

"Fred and George gave it to me in the third year," Harry said with a grin. They stared at a blot labeled _Lily Evans_ pacing back and forth in the girls' dormitory. "She looks happy," he muttered. "Mischief managed. Oh hey, come up to the dormitory, I've got something else to show you."

Harry beat James up to the dormitory, and by the time James entered, Harry was nowhere to be seen. "Harry?" James asked. "Where'd you go? Ouch!" This last exclamation was due to the fact that Harry, concealed beneath his Invisibility Cloak, had just poked James in the back of the head. _"No way!_" James yelled again. "The Cloak, too?"

"Dumbledore gave it to me," Harry said, beaming.

James got an evil glint in his eye. "Get me under that cloak, Remus has a surprise coming to him." They trooped down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and up to Remus' study. The door was slightly ajar, and they could see Remus facing away from the door at his desk, talking to Dumbledore's head in the fire. "…James and Lily are going home tonight," he said. "If there's anything you want to say, you should probably say it now." A smile played across Dumbledore's face as he saw the door slide wider open and he said "Well, I must be getting back to business."

"Of course, Albus," said Remus. Dumbledore's head disappeared with a _pop!_, and Remus felt a tug on his hair. "James," he said with a melancholy smile. "I know that's you."

"Moony!" James cried, revealing himself and Harry. "Look what I found in my son's trunk!"

Remus smiled in spite of the fact that Dumbledore's words were starting to weigh him down. _James and Lily are going home tonight_. This was it. He would never see the two of them again. _Last time you thought that, you were proven wrong,_ he thought, looking at father and son wearing identical grins. But he knew that this time, it was for real. James might be a bit rambunctious, but he and Lily weren't stupid enough to make the same mistake twice. "Listen, James," he said, feeling his chest tighten. _Wolves don't cry_, he chastised himself, but then thought that James had changed. He wouldn't say that. "I've really loved being your friend." Harry took the start of a goodbye type speech as his cue to leave the room, which he did. "Even when I was pissed at you for getting detention _again_, or for not taking school seriously, or for dying Snape's robes red and gold or something…I'm _so sorry_," Remus choked. "I miss you _every day_. I just…I don't know. I sound like a girl."

Part of James wanted to agree, but then he told himself, _be a man, Prongs. Take some of this maturity further than being a dad._ "No," he said. "You don't. You sound like someone who's faced a war and a bunch of untimely deaths, and who never got to say what you wanted to say. You're a great friend. Got any messages you want me to take back?"

Remus smiled. "Tell me to stop wearing those stupid orange trainers. They make me look like such a prat."

"Done," James replied, and then the two Marauders were hugging. "You'll see me off, right?"

"Of course," Remus asked. "I'm supposed to be marking papers, but they can wait. Do you want to do something?"

James grinned. "I've got an idea."

While James and Remus were having their sentimental conversation, Lily was preparing for one of her own. _Okay, Lily_, she assured herself. _You can do this. No, you _have_ to do this, whether you can or not_. She steeled herself and knocked on the door to Snape's office. "Enter," he said, sounding bored.

Lily stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "Hey, Sev."

"Lily," Snape breathed, standing up to conjure a chair for her. A high-backed black leather chair appeared in the middle of the cramped room, and she sat down stiffly. "How are you?" he asked.

"Um, I'm good," she said tentatively. "Listen, I came here to say something specific." Snape nodded, he'd put down his quill and parchment and was gazing at her. It was a little uncomfortable. _Cool it_,_ Lil_, she ordered herself. _It's Severus_, _just Sev._ "I'm going back to my own time tonight at around six. And I just wanted to say that I love you." Snape's entire face lit up; it was the sort of expression she hadn't seen on his face since they were small kids and he was teaching her about magic. "But…I'm choosing James."

"What?" Snape asked, his face suddenly ashen. "Why? How can you choose him?"

"Sev, you really hurt me when you called me a Mudblood," Lily said, tears welling in her eyes. "I know that James would never hurt me like that."

"That's _bullshit!_" Snape shouted. Lily flinched, and her tears spilled over. "Potter has hurt you at least a _thousand times!_ _He put a picture of you in lingerie on the bulletin boards of every House in the school! _And God knows what else! This just…doesn't make any sense!" In his outrage, a glass jar containing something pickled and slimy-looking exploded over his head.

Lily was sobbing now. "_Why are you doing this? Why are you making this harder than it has to be?_ L-look, Sev, I will a-always love you. You know that. You were my f-first f-friend at Hogwarts, and I can't overlook that." She was taking huge gulps of air, trying to calm herself. Snape's eyes were still flashing, but he was trying to calm himself at the sight of how upset she was. "I will love you forever, but only as a friend. I'm so sorry." The thought of staying calm seemed ludicrous now, and she gave herself over to wordless, hysterical sobbing and gasps. "I know what you became. Ginny told me. I can't be with a Death Eater, Sev," she choked between racking sobs.

"I gave that up!" Snape said intensely. "I turned spy for the Order, because the Dark Lord was targeting _you!_ I couldn't just let you die!"

"I know," Lily gasped. "But I shouldn't have been the reason to make you switch. You should have realized from the start that the slaughter of Muggles and the degradation of Muggle-borns is _wrong_, Severus. And when I get back to my time, I'm going to try my hardest to forgive you, if only to help ease some of your pain. But I can't be with you in that…way. I just don't feel that way towards you." Snape was crying too, now. Words had completely failed him. Lily, still shaking, walked over and hugged him. He hugged back, quavering. "I love you, Sev," Lily whispered, kissing him on the forehead.

"I love you too, Lily," Snape blubbered. "I'm going to miss you." Lily turned and walked out the door, waving and sniffling as she went, heading out of the tunnels and making a beeline for the kitchens. _God, I need some chocolate,_ she thought, wiping her eyes on her robes.


	15. Final Goodbyes

Chapter 15 – Final Goodbyes

Harry, James, and Remus sat on the floor on the second story of the Shrieking Shack, the Invisibility Cloak stuffed into Harry's bag. "I remember the transformation when Peter got trapped inside the piano," Remus said with a short laugh. "And neither of you could transform to get him out for fear that I would bite you." He sobered a bit. "That's not actually very funny, but it was at the time."

"This is where I met Sirius," Harry mused absently, remembering Scabbers' transformation into Wormtail and knocking out Snape.

"You never told me what happened to Wormtail, Remus," James reminded him. "What happened?"

"No one's heard from Wormtail for awhile," Remus said, giving Harry a look. Though Harry knew that telling James about Wormtail's betrayal would prevent his and Lily's death, he knew that there would be huge downsides to preventing it. Harry nodded in agreement just as they heard a crash from below.

"What the hell was _that_?" James yelped, as Harry and Remus, as a reflex from the final war with Voldemort, drew their wands and pointed them, stonily, at the door, but lowered them with a smile as they saw Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Lily emerge through it, Lily clutching what looked like Honeydukes' entire supply of Chocolate Frogs. "Evans, what-" James began as Lily sat beside him, but he stopped at a stern look from Hermione and instead patted Lily awkwardly on the shoulder.

"We saw you go off this way on the map," Ron explained as they all made a circle and Hermione conjured some blue fire in a jar for warmth. They stayed there for hours, talking, laughing and eating all of the Chocolate Frogs. Finally, Harry checked the watch that had belonged to Fabian Prewett and realized that it was a quarter to six.

"We should get back to the castle," he said with a sigh, and they left most reluctantly, Harry, James, and Ginny under the cloak and Ron, Hermione, Remus and Lily casting Disillusion Spells on each other.

When they reached the castle doors, they saw Dumbledore standing in the entranceway, looking very amused. "I know you're there," he said as the seven approached, and they revealed themselves. "Do I even want to know where you were?"

"Probably not, sir," Harry responded. He was usually the one who had to deal with Dumbledore, being the closest to him.

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, come along to my office. There are some people there to see the two of you off."

They climbed staircase after staircase until they reached a griffin, and Lily pressed a roll of parchment into Harry's hand as Dumbledore gave the password ("Licorice Wand"). "Open this after we leave," she said as they spilled into the office, then said to Dumbledore, "Professor Snape might need some attention, Professor. He's a little upset."

Waiting for them to leave were Professors McGonagall, and Flitwick, and Remus. Lily and James said goodbye to each one of them, hugging Remus and Flitwick tightly before getting to McGonagall.

"Well…goodbye, Professor," Lily said, sticking out her hand, but McGonagall made a strangled, gurgling sort of noise and pulled James and Lily to her. Everyone tried not to laugh as James and Lily exchanged _"What the hell?"_ style expressions. They shook hands with Dumbledore, whose eyes were glistening, and Ron, who hugged Lily and slapped James on the back.

Lily hugged both Hermione and Ginny tightly. "Thank you for dealing with all my meltdowns, girls," she said. "I wish I had you back in my own time to help me deal with things."

"We'll never forget you," Hermione promised, as Lily and James made their way to Harry.

"I guess there's not much left to say," Lily said with a smile, before opening her arms and enveloping Harry in a hug. "I'm going to miss you so much. Don't forget to read the letter." She kissed him on the cheek and went over to stand next to Dumbledore.

James slapped Harry on the back, and gave him a hug. "See ya, son," he stated before laughing. "That still sounds weird to me." He went to join Lily, and Dumbledore hung the chain on the Timeturner around both of their necks, turning the little hourglass twenty times.

"It goes without saying that you can never tell anyone what happened," he said, before standing back. Lily and James nodded as McGonagall, Dumbledore, Flitwick, Remus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny watched as Lily and James faded, calling "Goodbye!" and waving until they were completely gone, and then Harry went back downstairs and shut himself in the boys dormitory to read his letter. It had two passages, one from Lily and one from James.

_Dear Harry,_ Lily wrote, _There's not really much I can say to you that's very motherly, seeing as I'm the same age as you right now. But just know that the time I've spent here with you has made me really excited to have children...have you. God, this is bizarre. I'm proud to see how you grew up, and relieved to see that I did okay as a mom. When you grow up and have children, tell them all about their Grandma Lily, and tell them how much I wanted to meet them. I know that I can never see you again, because this sort of Timeturner accident can have disastrous consequences, but as soon as they develop magic to send me into the future I'll be there. If not, see you on the other side. I love you. Never forget me._ _Lily_.

James' handwriting was slightly messier. _Dear Harry,_ he wrote. _Evans is making me write this while I climb the stairs to Dumbledore's office. I looked at you walking ahead of me, and for a minute I thought I was looking at myself. You are so much like me - in looks, in flying skill, in love of breaking the rules. It's strange to see but at the same time, I really like it. I should tell you, after you left Dumbledore's office, he sat me down and told me to try to be a mature father figure towards you. I hope I did okay, and I'd like to think that I changed for the better. I'm not really mature enough to say I love you, even though I probably do. Does that count as saying it? I'm looking forward to meeting you. You're a good guy._ _James_.

Harry smiled as he folded the parchment. "He did okay," he said aloud, and then noticed with a start that Dumbledore was sitting on Ron's vacated bed, watching Harry read. _How the hell does he do that?_ Harry thought in wonder. _I didn't even hear the door open!_

"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Are you all right?"

"I'm…okay, I guess," said Harry. "I didn't want them to go back, but I'm glad that I got to meet them."

Dumbledore started reassuring Harry that he would see them again one day, but Harry's mind was remembering something that Dumbledore had said to him almost four years ago, in Remus' empty office. '_You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us?...Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly…."_ Harry smiled, remembering his stag Patronus. His parents would always be by his side, if not in forty or seventeen-year old forms. Dumbledore had stopped talking, and knew what Harry was remembering. He smiled, laid a hand on Harry's shoulder, withdrew it after a moment, and left the dorm to go find Snape.


	16. Epilogue and End Notes

Chapter 16 – Epilogue and End Notes

"_Wauggggggggghhhhhhh!_" Lily screamed as she tumbled through twenty years to land on her bed in the girls' dormitory. She had a split second to catch her breath before James tumbled on top of her (_"Ahhhhhhhh!"_), knocking the wind out of her completely.

"Whoa," James breathed, sitting on Lily's stomach and looking around. "Are we back?"

"Potter," wheezed Lily. "You're sitting on my lung." James scrambled off her and she gasped, massaging her ribs. "For a skinny guy, you're heavy!" she laughed. "Well, I suppose you can go out there and tell Remus I forgave you."

"Right," said James, having completely forgotten what she was supposed to forgive him for.

His hand was on the doorknob when she said "James?" He turned to see her sitting cross-legged on her bed, her hair falling into her smiling face, the Timeturner glistening around her neck. "Next Hogsmeade weekend, I might be up for a butterbeer."

James grinned. "See you then." He opened the door and was met by the seventeen-year-old Remus.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"It went _great_," James said with a self-satisfied smile. "And Moony? You're a good friend."

"Wow," said Remus, dumbfounded at this sudden change of heart. "Thanks, Prongs."

"Come on," James said, heading for the portrait hole. "I'm starving." And with that, the two friends headed to the Great Hall for dinner.

Author's Note: Wow! This is the first fic that I've ever finished that I've actually been proud of! I really hope you enjoyed it, I'll be editing and redoing my other fic posted soon. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I'm glad you liked it.


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